


All the pretty horses

by Commandership



Category: War Horse (2011)
Genre: Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hospitals, Nurses, Sad, ignore 1/1 I'm not done yet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-07
Updated: 2014-07-07
Packaged: 2018-02-07 22:07:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1915623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Commandership/pseuds/Commandership
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>People say that love never dies. If they mean that pain never fades, they may be right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The smile dropped rapidly from James Nicholls face as he drew nearer his father's house. It wasn't the house that was the problem, rather, it was his brother and sisters.

Not that he didn't like them, of course not. His elder brother Edward had been his mentor and companion until Edward went to Cambridge and into the Navy and his eldest sisters Victoria and Helena had made good marriages to kind, not to mention wealthy, men.

It was just Julia that couldn't be trusted.

Julia was nineteen years old, beautiful, accomplished and quiet, she should have been nothing but an asset to her family. But she wasn't. Not even close.

He sneered at the memory of her as the car entered the village.

Julia was far too intelligent for her own good, that was it. Edward had come back from Cambridge with all sorts of curious ideas, and he had filled the head of his doting baby sister with them. And now she too was full of rubbish about equal rights and so on.

Honestly, she was an embarrassment. Over the years since her sixteenth birthday, he had subtly arranged several meetings with various, wealthy and well connected, university and then army friends as potential suitors. Heavily chaperoned by himself or Victoria of course. But that hadn't mattered a bit. She had left them all cold, all on her own.

She spoke her mind too much, he thought. She should be quieter, more accepting. A woman should know her place, of course she should. Mother had, Helena did, Victoria certainly did, being married to the home secretary.

But Julia had spent her most impressionable years with their father and with Edward, and she had never learned that she was not supposed to know about cannon or horses. She had never been told that she was not meant to join in when he and their dinner guests spoke of battle plans or cavalry manoeuvres.

No matter how much Victoria fanned herself and gasped, Helena scowled and James shook his head, Julia carried on regardless.

Upon reflection, he thought, it was a great shame she was a girl. Her ideas were often very good.

He had to admit that neither Edward nor Father was completely blameless. Edward had taught her to analyse the stock market and to understand politics from his newspaper. And his father almost seemed to idolize his 'Clever little girl', and often grew impatient with Helena and Victoria when they refused to give an opinion.

What Edward was thinking, bringing that fool from the navy home to talk to her, he would never know. Julia was bright, certainly, but she was still a woman!

Well, no more of this independence, talking to the common man rubbish, he thought firmly looking at the quietly smoking figure on the other side of the car. Julia needed shaking up! No more running free like a boy, she needed to marry and marry money if possible. Or, just maybe, secure him a promotion. He'd been a lieutenant too long. Yes, he thought, Major Stewart would knock some sense into his wayward little sister.


	2. Chapter 2

'Major Stewart, may I present my sisters, Mrs Victoria Walsingham, Mrs Helena Bransgore and Miss Julia Nicholls. And my brother, Edward Nicholls.'

Stroke of luck this, Jamie needing digs, thought James, watching Julia's eyeroll as he stressed the 'Miss' in her name. He'll be charming and polite to Father, Julia'll catch his eye, pretty little thing that she is and they're engaged before you know it. More importantly, Julia will be his problem. As long as she doesn't open her mouth. He added as an unpleasant after thought.

He left Jamie writhing under the fierce questioning of his older sisters and went off on his standard daydream of Julia being someone else's problem. He was roused from the pleasant image of handing her over at the altar by Victoria grilling the Major about his family. He noticed that Jamie's voice had gotten that weak, wobbly quality that most people's voices got when they talked to Victoria for too long, (it was said that Victoria was a famous society beauty, and that lovers she had spurned threw themselves off bridges in despair. But this was mostly said by Victoria herself.) and so decided to interrupt the conversation.

'What do you say Jamie? Have a smoke and I'll show you to your room?' he asked, light-heartedly. Jamie nodded and shot him a grateful look, but James couldn't help notice Jamie's eyes straying back to Julia every time someone spoke to him.

'How old are your sisters, James?' asked Jamie thoughtfully as they leisurely climbed the main staircase.

James smiled 'Victoria is the eldest at twenty-nine, Helena is three years her junior and Julia is seven years Helena's.'

Jamie stopped dead 'Only nineteen?' he said, in some horror.

'She'll be twenty next month sir.' Jamie seemed to relax a little.

'So young. A large gap between the younger two.'

'Julia was born when my father left the army sir.'

Both men blushed slightly 'I see. Thank you Lieutenant.' Said Jamie, shutting the door. James smiled, checked that no one was around, and ran down the servant's staircase to the kitchen.

Julia was out in the scullery, in the back of the kitchen, washing glasses. As James approached her as quietly as he could, he realised that her appearance was another thing that made her different in this family. He, Edward and the two elder sisters had their mother's sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. Julia's eyes were dark brown like their father's and her hair was also their father's rather strange shade of chestnut. At that moment it was hanging over one shoulder of her plain blue working dress in a heavy plait. He crept quietly up behind her and pulled her left hand out of the copper sink, scrutinising it.

'Still unmarried little sister?'

'Still trying to marry me off, big brother?' she asked, pulling her hand away.

He sighed sarcastically 'You'll never get a husband if you treat all men the way you treat your poor brother.

'What if I don't want to marry, James?'

He pulled a face of mock horror 'But surely you don't want to be a spinster, Julia?' before she could give her standard disdainful reply, he smiled and said 'No matter Julia. I have found you a husband.

She smiled faintly and turned back to the sink. James sighed.

'Please Julia, you'll like him, he's a good man…'

The scullery suddenly rang with the alien noise of breaking glass as Julia threw a glass into the sink and whipped around to face her brother.

'The problem is not the men you choose James, it's you.'

He opened his mouth to say 'What?' but closed it again, when he saw the disgust on her face. She ran through the doorway and up the stairs, he following her all the way. Eventually, he caught up with her outside her study.

'Let me go.' She snapped as he caught hold of her wrist. Frowning, he put one arm around her waist and pulled her back into his chest 'You are making a scene, Julia!' he hissed in her ear

'Good.' She snarled back, squirming in his hold. He looked around him to make sure there were no gossiping servants or guests around, before dragging her along the corridor and pushing her into his own study. He then shut the door and leant on it.

Julia glared at him dangerously 'Let me go James, I'm warning you!'

He sighed 'Julia please tell me what's wrong.'

She smiled humourlessly and turned away.

'What do you mean the problem is me, Julia?'

She sat down heavily and passed a hand across her face. 'I can't trust you James. We both know you'd marry me off to a wife beater with a string of mistresses if there was something in it for you!'

James stood in the study, his mouth open, staring at his angry little sister. He stepped forward and took her hand.

'Julia, believe me. I never intended to hurt you, and I care deeply about my little sister, but… mama would have wanted you to marry and… father is getting… frailer. You need someone to take care of you. I thought I was acting for the best.'

'I don't need anyone to take care of me…'

'Don't be ridiculous Julia.' He sniffed. 'Even if you do end up a spinster, you'll still end up living with Me or Edward or one of the girls. You can't survive on your own. Now. Please, just put on something nice and come down to dinner to meet my commanding officer.'

She jumped up and strode towards the door 'This is exactly what I mean James! There is always something in it for you…'

'Julia, Julia! Just meet him that's all I'm asking. I promise not to try and marry you off, but you have to stick to a bargain too.'

'What?'

'Please don't try to scare him away with all this rubbish about Mrs Pankhurst and so on. Just talk about normal things Julia.' He floundered a little 'Girl things. Just for the next few weeks.'

She turned from the door, mistrust in her eyes. 'Do you promise?'

'Yes. Now how about a kiss for the brother you haven't seen in six months?'

He couldn't stop the flash of relief as she smiled prettily and leaned forward to peck him on the cheek.


End file.
